Two deaths, 211 new COVID-19 cases recorded in Interior over the weekend

The active COVID-19 case count for the Interior rose to 559 after 211 new cases were confirmed in the region over the weekend.

The new cases were part of 946 reported in B.C. over the weekend. Of those, 351 were confirmed Saturday, 311 were reported Sunday and the remaining 284 were Monday’s results. As of Monday afternoon, there were 2,876 active cases in B.C.

There were also 11 deaths recorded over the weekend, two of which were located in the Interior. To date, 2,362 British Columbians have died due to COVID-19, 294 of which occurred in the Interior.

B.C.’s hospitalizations due to COVID-19 decreased to 241 Monday, with 89 of those patients in intensive care.

B.C.’s vaccination rates for residents aged 5 and over rose to 85.5 per cent for first doses and 82 per cent for second doses Monday.

For those aged 12 and over, the province’s first dose rate was 91.3 per cent and the second dose rate was 88.1 per cent. It’s also noted that 11 per cent of British Columbians over the age of 12 have received a booster shot.

The Ministry of Health reports that, of the new cases reported in the past week, 54.1 per cent of positive test results came from someone who had not received a COVID-19 vaccine, while 41.7 per cent of new cases were fully vaccinated people.

Similarly, B.C.’s hospitalizations due to the virus over the past two weeks consisted mainly of the unvaccinated, who accounted for 61.5 per cent of patients. The fully vaccinated made up 33.9 per cent of COVID hospitalizations during that same time period.

There were no new health-care facility outbreaks announced in B.C. As of Monday there were five facilities listed as active outbreaks, including the Ponderosa Lodge long-term care centre in Kamloops.